Controversy over Pao's handling of the firing of a popular Reddit administrator continued to grow, as the uproar prompted several discussion boards to be taken offline, while the CEO lost more support among Reddit's users.
According to the Change.org petition, Pao is responsible for "a new age of censorship" on the website. The petition began three weeks ago after five forums (known as subreddits) on the site were banned for breaking Reddit's anti-harassment policy.
The appointment of Pao, the plaintiff in a high profile Silicon Valley discrimination lawsuit recently, was polarizing from the start. Some users were concerned that she would censor certain of the site's more freewheeling communities. Reddit's recent clampdown on a number of offensive subreddits led some users to deride her as "Chairman Pao."
"A vast majority of the Reddit community believes that Pao, "a manipulative individual who will sue her way to the top," has overstepped her boundaries and fears that she will run Reddit into the ground" the petition says.
At the same time, over 100 of Reddit's most popular forums
have been set to "private," locking them off, by their
moderators in protest against the company's decision to dismiss Director
of Talent Victoria Taylor.
In a Friday interview with Time Magazine, Pao apologized for the abruptness of Taylor's firing, saying the company didn't handle the transition well, although she declined to comment on the reasons behind Taylor's dismissal.
The moderators (unpaid, voluntary web users who help to run the subreddits) relied on Taylor to help arrange Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, a highly popular feature where members of the public or celebrities could answer questions from Reddit users.
Taylor's dismissal is not the only reason moderators are unsatisfied. "There is a feeling among many of the moderators of reddit that the admins do not respect the work that is put in by the thousands of unpaid volunteers who maintain the communities of the 9,656 active subreddits," Gilgamesh added.
An online petition calling for Ellen Pao to step down, signed by over 100,000 people who are deeply critical of her leadership.
Just a thought.
In a Friday interview with Time Magazine, Pao apologized for the abruptness of Taylor's firing, saying the company didn't handle the transition well, although she declined to comment on the reasons behind Taylor's dismissal.
The moderators (unpaid, voluntary web users who help to run the subreddits) relied on Taylor to help arrange Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, a highly popular feature where members of the public or celebrities could answer questions from Reddit users.
Taylor's dismissal is not the only reason moderators are unsatisfied. "There is a feeling among many of the moderators of reddit that the admins do not respect the work that is put in by the thousands of unpaid volunteers who maintain the communities of the 9,656 active subreddits," Gilgamesh added.
An online petition calling for Ellen Pao to step down, signed by over 100,000 people who are deeply critical of her leadership.
Just a thought.
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